Hydraulic cleanout system



M. A. KosMAK HYDRAULIC CLEANOUT SYSTEM l Filed April v, 1969 Sept.` 15, 1970 United States Patent O 3,528,556 HYDRAULIC CLEANOUT SYSTEM Michael A. Kosmak, Elk Grove Village, Ill., assignor to Marvel Engineering Company, Chicago, lll., a corporation of Delaware Filed Apr. 7, 1969, Ser. No. 814,122 Int. Cl. B01d 25/14 U.S. Cl. 210-443 2 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A hydraulic cleanout system for attachment to a line type filter to purify the fluid Within a hydraulic circuit. The cleanout system utilizes the power furnished by the machinery to which it is attached and includes a unique adapter assembly for attachment to the head of a filter housing. Dirty fluid is transported from the fluid inlet of the housing through the adapter assembly to a large hydraulic filter where the fluid is cleaned and returned to the outlet of the housing.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to a system for cleaning the fluid in a hydraulic circuit, and more particularly to fluid cleaning apparatus including an adapter assembly for attachment to a line type hydraulic filter.

A primary object of this invention is an improved cleanout system particularly adapted for attachment to line type filters for purifying the fluid in a hydraulic circuit.

A further object is a hydraulic cleaning system that provides longer operating periods between cleanings and eliminates exposure of the ultimate system to malfunction due to clogged filters.

Another object is a hydraulic cleanout system that has a large-active filtering area and utilizes the power of the machinery to which it is attached.

Another object is an economical cleanout system that increases the life of the filter element and allows efficient operation of hydraulic equipment.

Another object is an improved cleaning system that safe-guards initial system cleanliness and avoids run-in contamination damage.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following specification, claims and drawings for this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING The invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic view of the hydraulic cleanout system; and

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The hydraulic cleanout system is adapted for use with line type lters for hydraulic circuits and as shown in FIG. 1 includes a filter housing head 12, an adapter assembly 14 and a larger portable filtering unit 16. The hydraulic cleanout system puries the fluid and is adapted to utilize the power furnished by the machinery to which it is attached.

The head 12 of the housing 17 has formed therein an inlet 18 which connects to a source of unfiltered fluid in a hydraulic circuit. The inlet 18 communicates with the interior of the head 12 through a pasage 20 and is separated from an outlet 22 by a cylindrical portion 24 protruding downward from the top surface of the head. The

Patented Sept. 15 1970 fr ICC outlet 22 communicates with an internal passage 26 defined in part by the downward protruding cylindrical portion 24.

A by-pass valve assembly is not shown in FIG. l but may be included in the head 12. For further understanding of the by-pass valve assembly see U.S. Pat. No. 3,334,747 issued on Aug. 8, 1967.

The adapter assembly 14 inches a body casting 30 adapted for attachment to the head 12 of the housing 17. As shown in FIG. 1 the upper portion of the body casting 30 may be provided with external threads 32 for engagement with internal threads 33 in the head 12. An O-ring 34 fitting in a groove in the upper portion of the body casting provides a fluid tight seal between the head 12 and body casting 30.

A circumferential wall 36 extending up from the base of the casting 30= is adapted to receive a generally flexible sleeve 38 on its outer surface. A continuous bead 39 on the outer surface of the wall 36 provides a fluid tight seal and holds the sleeve 38 secured in place. The upper end of the sleeve 38 overlaps the lower end of the cylindrical portion 24 to complete the internal passage 26. When secured to the head of the housing the circumferential wall 36 defines an outer chamber 40 along with the internal passage 26. As shown in FIG. 1 the outer chamber 40 communicates with the fluid inlet 18 through passage 20.

The base of the casting 30 includes a pair of threaded openings 42 for receiving the respective threaded male fittings 44 of quick disconnects 48. The female portions 46 of the quick disconnects complete the connection between the casting 30 and an inlet line 50 and an outlet line 52. A pair of line adapters or reducers 54 adjust the diameter size of the inlet line 50 and outlet line 52 to the substantially larger filtering unit 16.

The ltering unit 16 may be the lter cart assembly shown in FIG. 1 and includes an inlet 56 and an outlet 58 at the bottom of the housing 60. A cover plate or cap 62 is secured to the open end of the housing by any suitable attachment means such as the fasteners 64 to provide a suitable seal. A tubular filter member 66 including layers of differential mesh is carried or supported by the internal structure of the housing 60. The filter member 66 is easy to replace as it merely lifts out without the use of tools or complicated procedures.

The portable filtering unit 16 may include a bypass valve 68 which is operable in response to a predetermined level of contamination in the filter member 66. A more detailed disclosure of the by-pass valve 68 may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,374,890 issued on Mar. 26, 1968.

A transparent lid 70` is mounted on the cover plate 62 to cover a valve position indicator 71. The valve position indicator is similar in construction to the indicating by-pass valve assembly shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,371,785, patented on Mar. 5, 1968. The valve position indicator 71 produces upon activation an external indication of the condition of the tubular filter and displays a green signal when the lter is clean, yellow warns that a predetermined degree of contamination exists and red indicates the by-pass is open.

The filtering unit 16 is mounted on a wheeled cart 72 and may be much larger in proportion to the head 12 and adapter assembly 14 than is shown in FIG. 1. In particular the tubular filter member 66 has a substantially greater filtering capacity than a filter cartridge (not shown) adapted to fit over the cylindrical portion 24 of head 12. For instance the capacity of the tubular lter member 66 may be ten times as great as the capacity of the iilter cartridge.

FIG. 2 is a section view showing the body casting 30 with its upward extending circumferential wall 36 which separates and defines the outer chamber 40 and the internal passage 26. The threaded openings 42 in the base of the casting are adapted to receive the male fittings 44. A plurality of fiats 74 on the outer surface of the body casting 30 are adapted to receive a Wrench for threaded attachment of the casting to the head 12.

The use, operation and function of this invention are as follows:

The hydraulic cleanout system is adapted for use -With typical fluid pressure systems. In addition the invention may be used with a wide range of uids such as fuel oils, coolants, lubricants, solvents, fire resistant fluids, water, gasoline or even paints and waxes.

When using the hydraulic cleanout system 10 the removable cylindrical base or bowl (not shown) of housing 17 is first easily removed. Then the removable filv ter cartridge (not shown) is removed by slipping it ofithe cylindrical portion 24 of head 12. The base or bowl is replaced by the adapter assembly A14 and the sleeve 38 is slipped over the cylindrical portion 24 to provide a fluid tight seal between the outer chamber 40 and the internal passage 26. The male fittings 44 are secured to the inlet line 50 and the outlet line 52 which are connected respectively to the inlet 56 and outlet 58 of the filter housing 60.

The fiuid enters the head 12 of housing 17 through inlet 18 and thereby enters the outer chamber 40. The uid flows from the outer chamber 40 to the inlet line 50 and into the portable filtering unit 16. The dirty uid passes through the tubular filter member 66 where its impurities are screened out. The purified filtrate then passes through the outlet line 52 to the internal passage 26 of the housing 17 and merges at the outlet 22.

The hydraulic cleanout system 10 removes contaminants and purifies the fluid. Extremely fine filtration can be obtained without exposing the ultimate system to malfunction due to clogged filters. It is recommended that this invention be used to filter the complete system volurne at regular intervals depending upon the liuid to be cleaned and the type of work involved. If this is done the ultimate system can be operated continuously without need for periodic filter cleaning or replacement. This invention also safe-guards initial system cleanliness and avoids run-in contamination damage.

I claim:

1. An adapter assembly for attachment to the head of a filter housing, the head being of the type having an outer generally cylindrical chamber surrounding an inner chamber with one of said chambers connected to an inlet and the other of said chambers connected to an Outlet, an opening into said chambers, and connecting means surrounding said opening, said adapter assembly including:

a housing defining a generally cylindrical outer chamber, an inner chamber surrounded by said cylindrical chamber, an inlet connected to one of said chambers and an outlet connected yto the other of said chambers, an opening into said chambers, connector means surrounding said opening, said connector means of said housing adapted to be joined to said connector means of said head with said inner and Outer chambers of said head in housing respectively aligned, a fiexible sleeve means carried by one of said inner chambers and adapted to form a fiuid tight seal with said other inner chamber, with the outlet and inlets of the chambers arranged so that when the adapter is connected to the head each set of communicating chambers is provided with an inlet and an outlet.

2. The structure of claim 1 further characterized in that said inlet and outlet of said adapter include inlet and outlet lines each having a quick disconnect.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 9/1968 Knuth 21o-444 x 7/1968 cohen et a1. 21o-.157 X 

